Senior HIV Advisor , West and Central Africa – GL E – French Speaking -Temporary until December 2025

The Senior HIV Advisor West and Central Africa supports the Head of HIV/AIDS in providing leadership and strategic guidance to the Global Fund, collaborating across the Secretariat and external partners. The Senior HIV Advisor, under the oversight of the Head of HIV/AIDS, is expected to take the lead on specific areas within the disease portfolio, and as such be the focal point for correspondence from within, as well as from outside, the Secretariat. They will contribute towards the development of policy and guidance within the Global Fund, as well as at global level through regular interaction with the relevant technical agencies.

The HIV response in West and Central Africa is rapidly improving but major challenges remain, in context where HS are constrained. Vertical transmission rate is still high at 21% and in 2021, it was estimated that 28% of all new infections in the region happened among children. ART coverage is still lower than in Eastern and Southern Africa, especially for children and men. Furthermore, a specific focus on improving prevention programs targeting key and vulnerable population programs is a priority for the region and at the center of the Global Fund strategy.

The Senior HIV Advisor West and Central Africa works directly with Country Teams and Regional Managers in the Grant Management Division providing technical advice to inform strategic investments in the region: i) in response to direct enquiries from Country Teams and their managers; ii) throughout the ‘country dialogue’ process underpinning the development of concept notes, and; iii) in the form of technical reviews of CCM submitted grant requests and concept notes (including those for Covid Response mechanism). They support the Head of Disease in the provision of expert guidance on the disease within the Global Fund, keeping staff updated on the best scientific evidence and best program practices in the area of prevention, treatment, care and support; identifying opportunities for reprogramming of existing grants to optimize the disease investment portfolio.

They also work with staff in Finance and Supply Operations Department, providing technical expertise particularly regarding disease-specific procurement decisions. Support to the Resource Mobilization & Donor Relations Department is provided as requested, particularly through technical content reviews of advocacy documents.

They will represent the Global Fund in technical fora, liaising closely with key partners to maximize the Global Fund’s contribution to the fight against the disease, working closely with regional managers and Country Teams on the design of strategies to strengthen technical partnerships at global, regional and country level, specifically around Technical Assistance provision to Global Fund concept note development and grant implementation. Focus will be on West Central Africa Region and the francophone technical networks.

Key Responsibilities

Perform the following duties under the supervision of the Head of HIV/AIDS:

• Informed by normative guidance from technical partners and by program performance results, provides advice on strategic investments for programming of new funding to achieve maximum impact and optimal alignment of Global Fund-financed programs with the strategic objectives.
• Conduct specific detailed analyses along the grant lifecycle where required and in collaboration with other Global Fund staff, to identify investment gaps and opportunities for reprogramming and reshaping of existing grants for the disease.
• Use their technical expertise and insights into Global Fund-supported disease control programs to provide technical input into Global Fund policy and guidance documents, and to work with relevant global technical partners to evolve normative and strategic investment guidance aligned with implementation needs.
• Work closely with Resilient and Sustainable Systems for Health team as well as the Community, Rights and Gender department to ensure strategic cross-cutting investments specifically within the area of the disease and across the overall investment portfolio.
• Provide disease-specific technical advice to members of the Monitoring, Evaluation and Country Analysis (MECA) team, as well as to the Monitoring, Evaluation and Public Health Specialists within Country Teams.
• Work closely with Supply Operations colleagues, to advise on appropriate procurement of commodities for the fight against the disease.
• Monitor scientific and programmatic developments, including new tools (drugs, vaccines, diagnostics, preventive tools, etc.) and public health approaches for the prevention and control of the disease, and ensure appropriate dissemination, training and technical capacity building across the Global Fund.
• Support the Head of HIV/AIDS in efforts to strengthen Global Fund partnerships with key external partners, including through disease-specific committees and working groups.
• Support the Head of HIV/AIDS in managing the governance and coordination of Technical Partnership Agreements, working closely with regional managers, Country Teams and the CCM hub to facilitate optimal partner engagement in the provision of quality-assured Technical Assistance during concept note development, reprogramming and grant implementation.
• Contribute to the development of Global Fund reports, publications, press releases and other advocacy or information materials.
• Develop Terms of References for consultants, and supervise these if their work falls within their area(s) of responsibility.
• Perform other duties consistent with the role and grade as required.

Subject to change by the Executive Director at any time at their sole discretion.

Qualifications

Essential:

• An advanced university degree in public health, epidemiology, or infectious diseases.
• Medical degree or specialized post-graduate qualification in HIV, infectious diseases, communicable diseases, Sexual health, STI or Sexual and reproductive health

Experience

Essential:

• Extensive experience at international level in the area of the HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, including program design and implementation, research and policy development.
• Experience in working with national HIV programs in developing countries.
• Experience in working with international technical agencies focused on the HIV or closely allied infectious diseases.
• An understanding of the international health arena and direct exposure to health environments both at national and international levels.
• Excellent analytical and evaluation skills.
• Comfortable and capable public speaker.
• Skilled at writing and editing technical documents.
• High proficiency in Word, PowerPoint and Excel.
• High proficiency at analytics packages, including Stata and/or R
• Good networking and interpersonal skills

Desirable:

• 8-10 years of experience at international level in the area of the HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, including program design and implementation, research and policy development.
• Knowledge of Global Fund and its policies, processes and its governance structure.
• A good publications record demonstrating the ability to analyze datasets and complex public health interventions.
• Experience developing highly targeted HIV programs in the context of low HIV prevalence and structural and cultural barriers to accessing services, particularly in West and Central Africa.
• Experience providing strategic, technical and program advice on HIV in the context of resource and technical limitations, and low national program capacity.
• Knowledge of technical partners operating in West and Central Africa and in particular francophone countries.
• Experience in high HIV prevalence countries and ability to translate lessons learned and successes to West and Central Africa.

Competencies

Languages:

An excellent knowledge of English and French, and preferably a good working knowledge of one of the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, Russian, or Spanish. Knowledge of other languages would be an asset.

Organizational Competencies:

• Global Fund awareness and mind-set (level 2)
• Service orientation (level 3)
• Drive for results (level 2)
• Collaboration (level 2)
• Interaction (level 3)
• Adaptability (level 2)

Functional Competencies:

• Disease Knowledge – Expert
• Global Public Health – Expert
• Country Context – Mastery
• Project Management – Mastery
• Analytical – Expert

 

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements